We are also looking for 12 offices, regional or INT teams that are ready to take their innovation culture to the next level and start local A-teams. You will be in good company: 17 local and 1 regional A-team are already building cross-department teams to foster the local innovation culture.
Why set one up? It’s a proven concept, it’s easy to do and free of costs. While being part of a global effort, each A-team team is different in their way of working and the topics they work on as it is tailored to the respective context. You will join a cohort with other offices learning from each other. There is a simple online course for the coordinators guiding you to the initiation process step by step (from finding your members, to goal setting and activity design). You will be working closely with the Global A-team and the WWF INT innovation team.
How to apply? You can find out more info about the local A-teams here and a simple sign-up form here. We have space for 12 WWF INT, regional teams or countries to join us this time.
Who can apply? WWF offices (NO/PO), WWF INT teams or regional teams can apply. It is not required to already work on innovation. Leadership (which can also in this case for now just mean CEO) needs to be supportive to go ahead.
Innovation is crucial to bend the curve for conservation, and business as usual is not enough. Together, we want to drive innovation in WWF through a diverse group of people passionate about new ways of thinking and doing and realising WWF's innovation approach.
Volunteers from all departments are coming together to cultivate the local innovation culture and support their office to innovate for greater conservation impact through the Local A-teams for Innovation.
Hear more firsthand from some of the A-team members
In the materials shared and the text in the drop down menu below you can find out more about the local A-teams based on what interests you most.
With the recent solutions and impact of these we are unfortunately not bending the curves. The answer can't be more work for those already working so hard to tackle conservation issues and doing the operational work to support. We need new ideas, now approaches, incremental and transformative innovation. For innovative ideas to flourish you need a fruitful soil - a culture supporting innovation. This is exactly what the local A-teams are working on and we need the whole network to jump on board. We need you to lead the change locally with our support. As a local A-team coordinator you join a community of likeminded people and go through a step by step journey of initiating a team. Only together we can create the change necessary for a truly innovative WWF.
At-a-glance, here are the "why, how, what" of starting a local A-team for Innovation:
Why? We want to support WWF in becoming more innovative to increase its conservation impact. Business as usual is not enough. We want to drive innovation in WWF through a diverse group of people passionate about new ways of thinking and doing. The A-team will be a group that people can turn to for support and that also proactively builds capacity and inspires and enables WWF staff members. North star of the work is WWF's innovation approach.
How? The team is assembled based on voluntary interest and operates with a coordinator but otherwise is very much self-organized. A local sounding board can support the A-team by providing direction and supporting the evaluation. All local A-team coordinators join a call every 6 weeks to hear about recent opportunities, exchange and support each other to overcome any barriers.
What? Local A-Teams consist of 4-15 members which aim to support the innovation culture and processes within the WWF office. The team builds up specific skill-sets and aims to introduce new innovation methods into WWF to enable employees to think out of the box and tackle challenges of their work and beyond. Each team identifies key innovation barriers and opportunities locally and designs activities based on those. These activities then get implemented by members of the local team - they range from training, to process facilitation, to discussion spaces, to coaching, etc.
We collected 5 reasons why offices felt like initiating a local A-team for Innovation is a rockstar idea. Take a look at the presentation on the right, and see if some of the reasons speak to challenges you face in your office. Warning - the following topics are very honest and direct!
Every context is different, and each local A-team will plan its activities according to the office's needs.
We are collecting new cases at the moment. But this is a presentation to support you in having more clarity regarding the types of activities you may be collaborating on if you join or initiate an A-team for Innovation. In this document, you will find examples of activities from the Global A-team for Innovation, and also from 2 local A-teams: Switzerland and Bulgaria.
Remember: do not feel obliged to copy the activities, rather see them as shared wisdom to inspire you.
Today, 18 local A-teams are active across the Network (in blue) and 05 are in the set-up phase (in orange). Will you join in?
The requirements to be part of a Local A-team for Innovation vary depending on each country office. Please reach out directly to the coordinators of the A-team in your office to understand the requirements in detail. Overall, the A-team enrollment requirements involve:
Take a leading role in driving WWF towards a more innovative future
Grow your innovation skills and mind-set, while also learning about Design Thinking and online facilitation
Be part of a team of inspiring people from across your office and collaborate with other local A-team across the network
Apply learnings in your everyday work while also inspiring your team
Become a more self-confident innovator and position yourself to exciting career opportunities